Bengals News (10/2): Politician asks for Bengals to leave

NFL Power Rankings, Week 5: Saints re-enter top 3; Rams slide
Maybe Marvin Lewis wasn't the problem after all. The Bengals were spanked by the previously winless Steelers on Monday night, falling to 0-4 in the process. It's one thing to get lit up by a future Hall of Famer in Ben Roethlisberger, but soul-searching is in order for Cincinnati after the Bengals' defense allowed Mason Rudolph to complete 24 of 28 passes with two touchdowns in an easy win. Angry Bengals fans will find an easy scapegoat in Andy Dalton, but this team has issues that go far beyond the quarterback. The NFL's Glowing Ginger Man can still light up the NFL, but he can't do it alone.

The Best Is Yet To Come For Hubbard
“I got my dog in fourth grade,” Hubbard said. “He was mine ever since my brother (Jake) and sister (Madison) went to college. Now he's about 12 years old. Doing well though. He lives with me. His name is Henry. Labradoodle. That's my guy.”

Redmond Granted Roster Exemption
Bengals G Alex Redmond returned to the team today after serving a suspension for Games 1-4. He has been granted by the NFL a roster exemption for up to one week, during which the team may activate him at any point.

Taylor And His Bengals Keep Looking For Key
“We had plenty of chances to score,” said running back Joe Mixon and wide receiver Tyler Boyd kept looking at the drive they were on the Steelers 18 down 7-3 with 5:49 left in the first half.

Bengals' John Ross expected to miss multiple games with shoulder injury
The third-year receiver was knocked out of Cincinnati's 27-3 defeat after he was slammed to the turf in the fourth quarter, with his right shoulder sustaining most of the impact. He had three catches on six targets for 36 yards on a night when the offense managed only 175 total yards.

Bengals: Cincinnati politician tweets about future without NFL team
"Go @Bengals," tweeted Mike Moroski, a Cincinnati School Board member and prominent Democrat. "Seriously, just go. (Oh, but please pay all of your property taxes before you leave - you know, for the kids and all the other services you short-changed to field a losing team built on one man's greed)."

Around the league

Booger McFarland gets mocked for heaping praise on Bengals
Booger McFarland got egregious last night. For some reason, McFarland thought it was a good time to heap praise on the Bengals while they were getting blown out by the Steelers in a loss that would move them to 0-4.

Are these Bengals worse than the tanking Dolphins?
On Monday night, it sure looked like the Bengals were doing the same thing while amassing just 175 yards of offense and just four third-down conversions despite running 64 plays and holding the ball for more than 30 minutes. Andy Dalton was sacked eight times, John Ross got hurt and A.J. Green looked miserable on the sideline. We could keep going.

Cousins apologizes to Thielen for missed opportunities
"I really want to apologize to [Thielen] because there's too many opportunities where we could have hit him on Sunday," Cousins said on KFAN on Tuesday. "Postgame when I talk to the media I always say, 'Hey, until I watch the film, it's hard for me to really give you a straight answer.' Well, now it's Tuesday night. I've watched the film and the reality is there were opportunities for [Thielen].

Rice thinks Fitzgerald can pass him on receptions list
"It was just great being there and to share that moment with him," Rice said Tuesday on NFL NOW. "I remember, you know, doing warm-ups, he was just throwing the ball back and forth with me. To see him get that fifth catch ... to get into that second spot and to be on hand right there for it is something I'll never forget. I have a lot of respect for this guy."

Khalil Mack on playing Raiders: 'It's no big deal to me'
Traded from the Raiders to the Bears shortly before the genesis of the 2018 season, Mack instantly changed the narrative in Chicago, as the team went from worst to first and claimed the NFC North title. In his wake, the Raiders are still searching for a pass rush and will get reintroduced to what one looks like Sunday when Oakland hosts Chicago at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London.

Kitchens 'moving on' after Ravens' Humphrey post
After the game, Cleveland coach Freddie Kitchens fumed about what he saw as Humphrey choking Beckham, noting he planned to talk to the league about the issue.